Plastic bottles and aluminum cans from drinks can be returned at railway stations

The largest rail carrier in the Netherlands, Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), has announced that it will be possible to drop off bottles and cans of drinks at the central stations of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Eindhoven from September 2022. The total number of vending machines at all stations will be 17. NS expects to collect up to 10 million bottles and cans a year in this way.

Striving to reduce the amount of municipal solid waste

In order to reduce the amount of household waste and send most of it for recycling, a deposit value of small plastic bottles was introduced from July 1, 2021, and from December 31, aluminum cans from drinks. The deposit is 15 euro cents. Money can be returned: to do this, you need to load a bottle or can into a recycling machine and scan a QR code. Money is returned to the account using a special application in the smartphone.

Previously, it was possible to return used bottles and cans only in supermarkets and gas stations. NS decided to do its part to protect the environment and fulfill the current legal obligation to reuse plastic bottles. The commitment stipulates that 90% of plastic bottles must be recycled. By 2040, railway stations should become "wasteless".

Next year, NS plans to install beverage containers at another 17 stations. In the future, the number of stations with such machines is planned to be increased to fifty.